Th;nkers Project Ultra Relay Charity Challenge

We asked our long term partners Dan and Charly from the Th;nkers Project some questions about their Ultra Relay challenge coming up in a couple of weeks, read on to find out more!

• What inspired your group to support Manchester Mind through this event?

We’ve worked closely with Manchester Mind for a number of years now as we were founded in the City of Manchester and were looking to build a relationship with a local charity. In that time we have held many different events and challenges. The continued work they do is not only vital, but also incredibly close to home for us (both geographically and personally speaking). We lost one of our best friends to Suicide when he was just 19 years old, so raising funds for a charity that benefits the lives of so many people, families and friend groups to help prevent them from going through what we did, is hugely important to us.

• Can you tell us a bit about the event and what supporters can expect?

On Saturday 6th June, a team of 4 of us will be attempting to run a non-stop 150 mile Ultra-Relay across the entire width of England.

We’re also incredibly fortunate to be working with the team at Solace Performance, who will be fuelling us and taking care of all things hydration.

This challenge is essentially the result of Me & Charley being in some grey area between extremely ambitious and borderline delusional. We both have this thing where we tend to bounce off each other and actively expand on the other’s bad ideas. In situations where we probably need someone to come in as a voice of reason and exercise some caution, we’ll say something daft like “It would be funny though” or “It can’t actually be that hard” and then proceed to see how far we can actually push it. I guarantee this idea was probably first put forward as something like a half marathon fun-run… Yet here we are getting ready to run 150 miles across the entire country.

• Why do you think supporting mental health in Manchester is so important right now?

Looking after your mental health is always important, however I feel like there’s almost a feeling in the air at the minute for a lot people, where perhaps we just need to take that extra bit of care. I don’t know if it was simply the miserable and dull start to the year weather wise, or if it’s maybe the continuing impacts of the rising cost of living. It might even just be me with a skewed perspective after some conversations with a few of my close friends recently. Who knows! Regardless, everyone deserves to feel enjoyment in their life and think positively of themselves. It’s so easy to forget sometimes that Mental Health & Physical Health are two sides of the very same coin, both equally as important.

• What has been the most rewarding part of organising this fundraiser?

Paradoxically, chatting with so many new people on our journey of putting this challenge together and hearing their own stories and past struggles. It’s massively eye-opening to just how many people poor mental health effects, both directly and indirectly. I cannot remember a single person i’ve spoken to who doesn’t have some at least some experience similar to our own. Yet weirdly there’s a sort of calming feeling you get when you can relate with someone and you share advice or even just be there to listen and be present. Meeting a genuinely great bunch of people and being able to openly talk about Mental health is the exact reason we started our brand, so it’s absolutely rewarding in that way.

• What message would you like to share with people considering supporting the event?

Please donate if you can — every single penny goes towards something truly important & we really do appreciate your generosity. For the same price as a coffee at your usual spot, just stick the kettle on at home and help us make a difference and support those who perhaps need us most. Thank you.

*Fuelled by Solace Performance and with support from Vista Insurance Brokers Ltd.

Click here to donate to cheer them on their way!